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«I call upon you now, as Americans, to face this challenge as we have faced every challenge in our great history, with honor, courage and a sense of duty towards all mankind.
«The current military plan in a situation such as this is clear. Since the Posleen are here earlier than expected, and in overwhelming local strength, the proper military reaction is to retreat to better terrain, to retreat behind the James and Potomac Rivers to the north and south, into the Appalachians on the west, until such time as sufficient military forces are assembled to defeat the enemy on the plains of battle.
«This is a good and just plan, one caring, as American generals always have, for their soldiers. If there were insufficient time to evacuate the civilian populace the decision would be to stay and slow the Posleen until the civilians could evacuate. But there is enough time to evacuate these areas. Manassas, Arlington and Alexandria, all of northern and central Virginia, is evacuating even as I speak.» He took a pause, not for any reason of drama, but gathering courage for the words he was about to say.
Throughout the country, at radios and, where they were functioning, televisions, Americans leaned forward waiting for their chief executive to continue, knowing that such a reaction, such a decision was anathema to the politician.
«Unfortunately, sometimes the proper military response is not the correct action for the country as a whole. Many mistakes have been made in history because of taking the proper military choice. It is for this very reason that the military is under civilian control in the United States and virtually every western nation. If we had taken the proper military choice we would have dropped nuclear weapons in Korea. The proper military choice led to the Battle of the Bulge. The proper military choices nearly lost World Wars One and Two to the Germans.
«I have, therefore, decided to override the 'proper military choice.' I have ordered the Tenth Ground Forces Corps, the Corps of Northern Virginia, to go into defensive positions south of the Occoquan River in the area of Quantico Marine Base. Their purpose is to stop Posleen incursions aimed towards Alexandria, Arlington and Washington, D.C.
«In addition, the soldiers of the Ninth Corps, the Pe
«I have done this, over the strong objections of my most senior commanders, because I believe that is the desire of the American people and I believe that the justifiable military reaction misses one small factor.
«We have been attacked,» the simple statement came out as almost a snarl, while his expression changed hardly at all. «For the first time in nearly two hundred years, the United States has been invaded. And I don't like that. If these . . . things communicate among themselves I want them to get one communication loud and clear. If you attack the United States, you are asking for a bucket-load of trouble. If you land on these shores, the only things you are going to get for your pains are chaos and death!
«The video from Fredericksburg, horrific as it is, clearly shows what Americans, surprised and facing overwhelming odds, can do to these creatures on their own turf. As your President, I ca
«I have made this decision, knowing that it means the death of many of the soldiers sworn to the service of their country.
«To the soldiers in the field, I have only this to say.
«Obey your orders, care for your comrades and take the field knowing that few things can face a human who is in the right and just keeps coming.
«Good luck. Pile 'em up like cordwood.»
* * *
Mueller watched the female technician hooking wires up to the demolition circuit board. «Where are we with the stringing?» she asked. Her hands moved with a graceful haste, barely pausing as each circuit was co
«We've strung all but the outer edge, and the engineers have placed all the detonators. We're still putting up the claymores, but they'll be done by the time you're ready.»
«I wish we had enough Pyronics for this job,» she said, testily. «I hate working with this lowest-bidder military stuff.»
«Hey, MILSPEC is the class of the world!»
«Hah! Tell it to the amateurs, kid. I've worked with every type of detonator in the world and five gets you ten one of these blasting caps fails when I do the systems check. These dang military caps are too dang sensitive.»
«Okay, I've got ten bucks says you're wrong.»
«It was an expression. I don't drink, swear or bet. I have enough excitement in my life as it is.»
«What do you usually do?»
«Well, I used to drop buildings for a living, but lately I've been a home demolition contractor.» She set the last circuit in place and hooked up the meter. «How certain are you that they haven't hooked up any of the blasting caps?»
«Not certain enough.»
«Good answer. I wanted to see if you had any sense.» She stood up and arched her back, rubbing at her lumbar. «I prefer doing this with a table, too.»
«We must all make our little sacrifices for the war effort.»
«Sure. Personally, I gave up chocolate. I'm go
«I thought I was one of them.»
«Yeah, but that way I only have to worry about one.»
«Let me make you a deal. Since I am in charge of most of the 'amateurs,' especially the civilian ones, and I really shouldn't be tied to this spot, let me get a guard who knows darn well not to touch anything and only understands simple commands so he gets it right.»
«Whatever.»
Mueller came back a few moments later with one of the cavalry troopers providing security for the construction site. With a screen of Bradleys and Humvees five miles down the road, Mueller was personally convinced that the Posleen would be spotted well before they reached the ambush. But the military's standard operating procedures were developed from numerous situations where people were personally convinced of one thing or another and totally wrong. So—despite anyone's personal conviction—Colonel Abrahamson was providing security to all of the ambush preparation sites.
This was the ambush site most distant from Richmond and presumably the point of first contact for the Twelfth Corps. At this point, near Road 656, there was a perfect site for a long-range armor and mechanical ambush. An overpass ran along a very slight ridgeline perpendicular to the interstate. North of the overpass there was a straight stretch nearly two miles long. Half a mile from the overpass a group of trees crowded the road at either side and ran down the median. In the midst of the trees a shallow and apparently u
Now, both sides of the interstate just behind the overpass had been cratered and dug out for fifty meters towards Richmond, creating a shelf in which a platoon of cavalry vehicles crouched with their twenty-five-millimeter ca
And the wooded patch was lined with two thousand claymore mines.
Each mine was a narrow curved box, with thin «legs» on the bottom, projections for detonators on the top and the convexly curved front labeled, humorously in the opinion of most military perso